One Direction
One Direction is a British-Irish pop boyband consisting of Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan. Former member Zayn Malik left the band in March 2015. They were contestants on the seventh season of The X Factor UK in 2010, and finished third. Despite losing, the group was subsequently signed to Simon Cowell's record label, Syco Music. Background The X Factor (2010-11) In early 2010, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik auditioned as solo performers for the seventh season of The X Factor (UK). For Liam Payne, it was his second audition process. Payne first auditioned in 2008, but was eliminated during the judge's houses portion, due to inexperience. For Louis Tomlinson, it was also his second audition process, though his first to qualify past the initial producer's auditions, which took place in April 2010. Each soloist succeeded through to the bootcamp stage, but all were eliminated at its conclusion. Simon Cowell and three other judges decided the groups were not evenly split that year, and decided to call back ten eliminated solo contestants. These contestants were placed into two groups, allowing them all to continue competing. In August 2010, all five members of One Direction spent two weeks living at Harry's dad's bungalow in Cheshire.'We had to overcome our egos'. Digital Spy. October 6, 2010. One Direction were the favorite act to win throughout the 2010 season of X Factor, generating massive and unprecedented fan/media hype. Ultimately, they finished in third place behind runner up Rebecca Ferguson and winner Matt Cardle. Simon Cowell signed One Direction to his record label, Syco Music, on December 13, 2010. Musical Career One Direction's debut single, "What Makes You Beautiful" was released on September 11, 2011 and debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number one on September 18, 2011. It became the third fastest selling single of 2011, selling 153,965 copies. It is one of the best selling singles of all time, with 7 million copies sold worldwide. Their debut album Up All Night was released on November 18, 2011 and became one of the best-selling albums of the year. Three more singles were released - Gotta Be You, One Thing and More Than This - with One Thing becoming a worldwide top ten hit. One Direction embarked on their first headlining tour, the Up All Night Tour, on December 18, 2011. The band's second album Take Me Home was released on November 12, 2012. The singles Live While We're Young, Kiss You and Little Things all found immense success, with Live While We're Young debuting at #3 on the United States Billboard Hot 100, and Little Things being certified platinum after shipping 1,000,000 copies. One Direction embarked on their second headlining tour, the Take Me Home Tour, on February 23, 2013. On August 20, 2013, One Direction's debut concert film, This Is Us, premiered worldwide. Their third album, Midnight Memories, was released on November 25, 2013, and presented a rockier sound from the band, as well as a departure from the bubblegum pop sound and lyrics. The album also saw the band contributing creatively with Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne each co-writing ten tracks, Harry Styles co-writing five tracks, Niall Horan co-writing three tracks and Zayn Malik co-writing two. Four singles were released - Best Song Ever, Story of My Life, Midnight Memories and You & I - with Best Song Ever and Story Of My Life becoming worldwide hits. One Direction's third headlining tour, the Where We Are Tour, began on April 25, 2014. Their fourth album, Four, was released on November 17, 2014. The album further established the band's transition into mainstream rock, and again featured each member contributing to the majority of the album's writing. Tomlinson and Payne both co-wrote nine tracks, Styles co-wrote five songs, while Horan and Malik both co-wrote three. Two singles were released - Steal My Girl and Night Changes - and both found considerable success. The band embarked on their fourth headlining tour, On The Road Again, on February 7, 2015. Zayn exited the band permanently the following month, however, the tour continued and eventually concluded on October 31. One Direction released their fifth album, Made in the A.M., on November 13, 2015. The album saw the most creative contribution from the band members so far, with Tomlinson contributing ten co-writes, Styles contributing seven, Payne contributing six co-writes, and composing two tracks, and Horan contributing four co-writes. Three singles were released - Drag Me Down, Perfect and History - with Drag Me Down becoming one of the highest selling songs of 2015. In the six years since becoming a band, One Direction have sold over 50 million albums worldwide, and were the first band to ever have four albums debut at #1 on the US Billboard 200. Four of One Direction's albums have sold over a million copies in the USA. As of 2015, they were the 2nd highest earning celebrities of the year, earning $130 million. Their fourth world tour, On The Road Again, acquired over $188 million and saw the most concert tickets sold in 2015. One Direction was named Artist Of The Year by Billboard in 2014, and by the American Music Awards in both 2014 and 2015. Zayn's Departure On March 25, 2015, it was confirmed via a statement on One Direction's official Facebook page, that Zayn had officially and permanently exited the bandZayn Exit Statement. His sudden departure made worldwide headlines, as One Direction were in the process of completing their fourth world tour at the time. Zayn would later reveal he never felt he fitted into the band musically, as his preferred R&B sound was different from the group's overall pop-rock sound. He also cited anxiety and introversion as constant struggles. Zayn released his debut single on January 29, 2016, and his debut album, Mind of Mine, on March 25, 2015. Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis continued One Direction as a four piece. 2016 Band Hiatus One Direction have been on hiatus since December 13, 2015, when they last performed as a group on The X Factor (UK)'s grand final episode. On August 23, 2015, tabloid publication The Sun reported One Direction would be taking a break the following year, but used the tagline "This Is The End", which caused worldwide media outlets to report the band was splitting upFour directions: 1D lads to go separate ways in March. On August 25th, Niall confirmed the band would take a break from touring on Twitter, but said they had no plans to split upNiall's tweet. Louis also tweeted saying "we're not going anywhere"Louis's tweet. The hiatus is the band's first, and only, break from touring and collaborating together since 2010. All four members define the hiatus as a "well-deserved" breakLouis and Liam talk the break they will eventually return from as a group. Niall stated, "It seems like no matter how many times we say that we are not breaking up, the more people are convinced we are breaking up, so I have given up trying to explain it. It will be good to be able to get home a bit more, because that really is the only downside of the gig.Niall's statement" All four members acknowledged their six year annniversary as a band on social media on July 23, 2016. An exact time frame for the hiatus is not confirmed, as the band want to be able to decide together when they're ready to returnLiam: "The break will be shorter than people think". On 21 July 2016, Liam's sister Ruth Payne said she believed the hiatus would be two years. In the September 2016 issue of AnOther Man Magazine, Harry stated "I would never say we'll never do anything again, but it's good for us to be exploring different things. Maybe at some point everyone will want to do something again but it's better if it happens naturally, like, "Hey we all really want to do this again". If that were to happen, it'd be amazing. I would never rule that out. It's the most important, greatest thing that ever happened to me, being in that band. It completely changed my life". On September 29th, Niall told Capital FM a reunion was inevitable, stating "For the foreseeable, we're doing our own thing. We still talk all the time. It could be one year, could be two, but it'll definitely happen there's no doubt about thatNiall Capital FM Interview Sept 2016." He elaborated further in a November interview, stating "We just felt like it was the right time. I can’t really put anything to it. It wasn’t something we delved into and thought ‘is this the right time to do this?’. We just thought ‘let’s take a break’ and we will get back into it in a couple of years or something. I am sure once everyone starts getting bored again, we will be like ‘Hey, are you ready?'"One Direction’s Niall Horan JUST revealed Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles reunion date! Career Developments During 2016 Hiatus Liam: In January 2016, Liam began re-working on several collaborations with rapper Juicy J, and previewed a self-written rap song on Instagram. A Juicy J demo titled 'You', featuring Liam on the chorus, leaked online on April 20, and was subsequently denied as an upcoming single by Liam himself. Liam and Louis provided their voices for a One Direction cameo on animated TV series "Family Guy", which aired May 15th. In May, Liam attended various red carpet events with current girlfriend Cheryl. On July 21st, Liam announced he had signed a solo record deal with Capitol Records UK. He also tweeted "One Direction will always be my home and family", while his sister Ruth clarified on Twitter that he is not leaving the bandRoo Tweet. Liam is currently working on his debut solo album, and has shared photos on social media of his various collaborators, including Pharrell Williams, TM88, Intensi-t and Jean Malvo Baptiste. On October 17th, Liam announced his US record label would be Republic Records. Harry: On January 26, 2016, Harry signed with DawBell PR. He split from Modest Management on February 1, his 22nd birthday. He is now managed by music mogul Irving Azoff's son, Jeff. In March, it was reported that Harry had landed a role in Christopher Nolan's July 2017 war film Dunkirk, and while news went unconfirmed, Harry was spotted on set throughout May-July. Filming concluded in September 2016. Unconfirmed reports of million dollar solo record deals for Harry surfaced in June, but remain unsourced rumours at this point. A song co-written by Harry, titled "Someday", will feature on Michael Buble's forthcoming new album. On September 27, 2016, Harry revealed three separate covers for the 23rd issue of AnOther Man Magazine and on September 29th, his 34 photo fashion spread from the magazine, as well as two exclusive interviews conducted by Sir Paul McCartney and Chelsea Handler and an expose written by Harry's sister, Gemma Styles, were released. Louis: In March 2015, Louis began scouting talent for his record label imprint, and throughout 2016, has been establishing an as yet unnamed girl band. In May, Louis and Liam's voices were featured in a One Direction skit on Family Guy. On May 31st, it was announced Louis had also split from Modest Management, and is now represented by James Grant Group. On June 5th, Louis competed against Niall in the Soccer Aid All Stars charity match, playing for England, who won the match. On July 20th, Louis appeared alongside Simon Cowell on America's Got Talent as a guest judge. Louis released his debut single, Just Hold On, on December 10, 2016 and performed it live the same day, at the 2016 The X Factor (UK) grand final. The song went to #1 on iTunes in 28 countries upon release. Niall: Niall staged a charity golfing event alongside golfer Justin Rose on May 29th, where they raised over $1 million USD for cancer research. Niall was assistant coach for the Rest Of The World team for the Soccer Aid All Stars match on June 5th, opposing Louis, who played for England. Niall helped launch a golf management company alongside One Direction's former management team, Modest Management. Niall released his debut single "This Town" and announced a solo record deal with Capitol Records on September 29, 2016. The song went to #1 on iTunes in 50 countries and became a top 10 hit worldwide. Group: On July 1, 2016, One Direction won Best Live Act at the Silver Cleft Awards. The band's statement read "Thank you to all our fans for voting. Our live show is so important and it is amazing for this to be recognized for the second time."Silver Clef Award They were announced as Forbes second Top Earners of 2016 with $110 million to their nameTop Earning Acts. On September 4th, it was announced One Direction held six 2016 Guinness World Records: 'First Group To Debut At #1 With Their First Four Albums In The U.S', 'First Group To Debut At #1 In The U.S With Debut Album (Up All Night)', 'Highest Debut By U.K Group On U.S Singles Charts (Live While We're Young at #3)', 'Most Popular Dance Game Track (What Makes You Beautiful on Just Dance 4)', Most Followers On Twitter For A Music Group (23,393,106 million) and 'Most Subscribers For A Band On YouTube (36,817,975)'World Records. On October 24, 2016, a song titled 'Something That Scares Me About Love', co-written by Liam and Louis, was registered to ASCAP. On November 23rd, One Direction won Best International Artist at the 2016 ARIA Awards. On November 30th, Forbes Magazine announced One Direction were the #2 highest paid musicians of the year, despite being on hiatus, earning $110 millionTaylor Swift, One Direction top list of highest paid musicians: Forbes . All members of One Direction were reunited on December 10th, at the 2016 The X Factor (UK) grand final, where Louis Tomlinson performed his debut single Just Hold On, with DJ Steve Aoki, in tribute to his mother, Johannah Deakin, who passed away after a battle with cancer on December 7th. Albums Up All Night (2011-12) One Direction released their debut album, Up All Night ''on November 18, 2011. The singles released were "What Makes You Beautiful", "One Thing", "Gotta Be You", and "More Than This". Up All Night sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide and What Makes You Beautiful became one of the best selling songs of all time. Take Me Home (2012-13) In November 2012, One Direction released their second album ''Take Me Home, which includes the singles "Live While We're Young", "Little Things" and "Kiss You". The album reached number one in 35 countries. Midnight Memories (2013) In November 2013, One Direction released their third album ''Midnight Memories'', which includes the singles "Best Song Ever", "Story of My Life", "Midnight Memories" and "You & I". Midnight Memories was the best selling album of 2013, selling four million copies. Four (2014) One Direction's fourth studio album, ''Four'', was released on November 17, 2014. The album was announced on September 8 along with a free download of promotional single, "Fireproof". The song acquired over a million downloads in 24 hours. The album only featured two singles, "Steal My Girl" and "Night Changes". The album sold over a million copies in the United States, and became their fourth to reach #1 on the US Billboard 200. Fans organised a significantly successful online project to promote album track "No Control" as if it were a single, which saw the song added to radio station playlists, featured in interactive video game Just Dance and eventually won a Teen Choice Award. Four was Zayn Malik's final album as a member of One Direction. Made In The A.M. (2015) One Direction's fifth studio album, Made in the A.M., was released on November 13, 2015. It was their first album without Zayn Malik. "Drag Me Down" was the first single from the album, released on July 31, 2015. It sold more than 300,000 digital copies on the first day of release and was #1 in 90 countries on iTunes. Two more singles, "Perfect" and "History" were released, and reached the top 10 worldwide. In January 2016, the album went platinum in the United Kingdom. As was the case with "No Control" on the band's previous album, fans organized a successful online campaign to promote "Home", a song which did not appear on Made In The A.M., but was released on the Perfect EP, a short collection of remixes and acoustics. The campaign saw "Home" added to radio playlists and winning a Teen Choice Award. In April 2016, Made In The A.M. went platinum in the United States. Discography *''Up All Night'' (2011) *''Take Me Home'' (2012) *''Midnight Memories'' (2013) *''Four'' (2014) *''Made in the A.M.'' (2015) *''Perfect EP'' (2015) Films ''This Is Us'' was the first theatrical concert film about One Direction, detailing life on the road during their 2012 Take Me Home Tour. Filming began in January 2013. All footage was shot in 3D. This Is Us premiered worldwide on August 20, 2013. This Is Us is currently the fourth highest grossing concert movie, grossing over six times the film's budget. The band's music video for "Best Song Ever" featured preview clips from the film, and the plot of the video centered around a Hollywood production company pitching ideas to the band for a music video, when they stop by the office while filming their movie. The band has made suggestive comments in subsequent interviews about the documentary being heavily scripted. "One Direction: Where We Are - The Concert Film" was the second theatrical concert film of One Direction, showcasing one concert at San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, during the band's 2014 Where We Are world tour. The film was exclusively released to cinema for two days from October 11, 2014. While mostly centered around the concert, the DVD featured behind the scenes footage of the band rehearsing songs, while discussing their success so far and recording their fourth album.The footage also showed the band visiting Christ The Redeemer in Rio De Janeiro on a day off. The film broke the record for the highest grossing event cinema production with a net total of $15 million. Filmography Band Members Current members * Harry Styles * Niall Horan * Louis Tomlinson * Liam Payne Former member * Zayn Malik (2010-2015) Backing band 2010-2015 * Josh Devine – drums * Dan Richards – guitar * Jon Shone – keyboard, percussion * Sandy Beales – bass Concert tours Headlining * ''Up All Night Tour'' (2011-2012) * ''Take Me Home Tour'' (2013) * ''Where We Are Tour'' (2014) * ''On the Road Again Tour'' (2015) Opening act * ''X Factor Live Tour'' (2011) * ''Better With U Tour'' (2012) Awards and Nominations Since 2011, One Direction has won a total of 242 awards and has been nominated for 366. Some of the m ore significant awards include two consecutive American Music Awards for Artist Of The Year, won in 2014 and 2015. The band also won four BRIT Awards and four World Music Awards. Publications * One Direction: Forever Young, HarperCollins (February 17, 2011) * One Direction: The Official Annual 2012, HarperCollins (September 1, 2011) * Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction, HarperCollins (September 15, 2011) * One Direction: The Official Annual 2013, HarperCollins (August 30, 2012) * One Direction: Where We Are: Our Band, Our Story, HarperCollins (August 27, 2013) * One Direction: The Official Annual 2014, ''HarperCollins (August 29, 2013) * ''Who We Are: Our Autobiography, HarperCollins (September 25, 2014) References See also: One Direction at the Boybands Wiki Category:One Direction Category:The X Factor Category:Songs Category:Studio albums Category:People Category:British people